With that statement from Belt during the Giants' FanFest last weekend, the first shot of what is projected to be a season-long battle in the NL West was fired. Dodgers superstar center fielder Matt Kemp saw the comment — "Of course. How could I not?" Kemp said — and offered a retort.

"If I was a World Series champ, I wouldn't be saying anything about anybody's team," Kemp said Friday after the Dodgers' workout. "I (wouldn't) have anything to say. I'm a World Series champ.

"I think we all saw those quotes. We're going to worry about the Dodgers. I'm sure the Giants should worry about the Giants."

Boom! A retaliation shot.

Belt's comment was a result of his team spending the offseason as an afterthought to the Dodgers and their new deep-pocketed ways. Los Angeles made all the big trades last summer and signed Zack Greinke this winter. As a result, many consider the Dodgers the best team in the NL West … without a game having been played.

There were myriad story lines this past offseason, but few (if any) of them involved the defending World Series champion Giants until Belt spoke up and drew a huge ovation from the gathered fans, as well as laughs from teammate Madison Bumgarner and manager Bruce Bochy.

The Giants return 21 players from last season's World Series roster, and that includes NL MVP Buster Posey, World Series MVP Pablo Sandoval and NLCS MVP Marco Scutaro as well as all of their postseason starters.

The only glaring omission in camp is Melky Cabrera, who was one of the Giants' best offensive weapons but didn't even play in the postseason — partly because of his 50-game suspension for testing positive for synthetic testosterone and partly because the Giants didn't want to disrupt their chemistry during the playoff run.

And there is that word again: chemistry.

It was spoken and written about countless times last October in reference to the Giants. In an attempt to keep that chemistry intact, the team's front office resisted the urge to spend big on another arm or an impact bat. But while chemistry might be sexy during a magical fall, it is nothing short of Sloth from "The Goonies" during the offseason.

Greinke, Hamilton, the Upton brothers, nine-figure contracts. Those are the things that make headlines from November through February — not standing pat or re-signing Scutaro (unless you consider the headlines that criticized that three-year, $20 million deal).

The Giants might not have been a major topic of conversation this offseason after winning a second World Series in three seasons, but reliever Sergio Romo wouldn't go as far as to say the team is being overlooked.

"To say we are overlooked, no, because everyone knows who finished No. 1 last year," said Romo, who has shaved off his full beard and opted for a simpler goatee. "Do I feel like we have a target on our backs? No. We play 162 games just to find out who makes the playoffs, and the best teams on paper don't always make it to the playoffs or win it all every year.

"Other teams may have made bigger splashes. And why not? They didn't finish No. 1. They want to finish No. 1. So that's why they are making those moves."

That could come off as a jab at the Dodgers, and it certainly has those tones, but Romo simply meant the Giants didn't need to tweak their roster. They felt going into the 2012 postseason that they had a team good enough to win it all, and they proved the doubters wrong by doing just that.

This year, the Giants feel the same way while not minding if other, more star-studded teams take the attention from them.

"We know how good we are. We just won the World Series," shortstop Brandon Crawford said. "We seem to thrive being the underdog two out of the last three years. We don't mind being in that position."

As for the "chemistry" that is the hot topic among the NL West rivals, the Giants see it as a compliment to what they have been able to accomplish without a group of highly paid All-Stars or sought-after free agents.

"I think we've actually been given credit based on the fact that teams aren't just trying to put the best talent on the field anymore," Romo said. "They are also trying to get the best group of guys in the clubhouse. We are the example."